CHAPTER FIVE
MAGGIE’S eyes opened as coolness tickled her back. Movement caught her attention, and she watched Court bend down to pick up two pieces of firewood from the small pile near the door. It amazed her that this Boston socialite didn’t at all seem out of place in the simple hut.
She laid a hand on Neetie’s shoulder. The boy slept comfortably. She breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Court’s concerns had been over top. Surely it was only something Neetie had eaten. She loved him and with the chief’s agreement she was so close to becoming the family she’d always dreamed of having.
Court lifted the blanket and crawled underneath, causing her to shiver. “What time is it?”
“Still early. Go back to sleep.” His raspy words were warm against her cheek.
She shifted closer to Neetie, putting her arm around the boy and pulling him close. Even so, Court’s warmth touched hers from head to toe. He put a long arm across her and Neetie, sandwiching her between them.
“I don’t—”
“Shut up, Maggie, and go back to sleep.”
* * *
A sliver of light ran under the thick material covering the doorway when Maggie next woke. Still in the shadowy part of slumber, Maggie found her head cushioned by a muscular arm. A cocoon of warmth surrounded her. She wiggled, snuggling back against the feeling.
“Mmm, that’s nice.” Court’s gruff voice came from behind her.
Maggie eyes jerked open.
She lay spoon fashion against Court and his hand rested beneath her right breast. She wrapped her hand around his wrist and pushed it away. Along with his hand went the splendid warmth and pleasure of being touched. She’d been alone so long she forgotten how good it felt to have a man embrace her.
“I’m hungry,” Neetie said.
She heard Court’s low expletive as he moved away.
Maggie ran her hand over Neetie’s forehead. “So you’re feeling better?”
The boy nodded.
“Come on, Neetie, let’s give Maggie some privacy and find you something to eat.” Standing, Court looked down on them like a god hovering above.
Maggie watched as the two males left, the tall, strong man giving his entire attention to the painfully thin boy, a solid muscular arm about slender shoulders. The action was the first familiar one Court had made toward Neetie. Until the night before he’d kept the boy at arm’s length, never completely giving Neetie his full attention. It was as if something that had been closed off in Court had been set free as he’d taken care of Neetie.
* * *
The morning had been busy. Court had never doubted it would be. Waking with Maggie in his arms, warm and soft against him, had made the morning seem even longer. He only had to let his mind slip away from the next patient for an instant to want to feel her in his arms again. But just because he wanted her sexually, it didn’t mean he cared for her, he reminded himself.
He’d been attracted to women before but watching the subtle sway of her hips in the thin floral skirt as she walked around the makeshift clinic was enough to make him dream of things that could never be. How in the world was he going to survive sharing a hut with her again tonight? Even with Neetie there it would be more than he could stand.
Court glanced to where she was examining one of the children. She smiled at the mother, telling her what a fine baby boy she had, before she picked up the chubby child and blew on his belly. When the baby giggled so did she. The sound captivated Court, having never heard anything like it. He wished he could be the one giving her so much pleasure. Maggie was creeping into a spot where he’d never let another human enter.
A woman wearing a colorful turban approached Maggie and spoke rapidly to her. All the joy drained from Maggie’s face. She handed the baby back to the mother. Maggie’s stricken look made him thankful there weren’t any more patients waiting.
He went to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “What’s wrong, Maggie? What has happened?”
She looked up at him, her eyes shinny with moisture. “Neetie collapsed.”
“Where is he?”
“In Zena’s hut.”
“I’ll get my bag. Then you show me where.”
As he and Maggie wove their way through the village, Court mentally kicked himself. He’d had a nagging feeling all morning that Neetie’s problem wasn’t going to be simple. Still, they couldn’t have dashed off in the middle of the night into the middle of nowhere. It wouldn’t have been just Neetie in trouble. He had Maggie to think of too. If he’d been at home he would’ve ordered an abdominal ECHO but the closest ECHO was to hell and gone from this remote village.
Neetie lay on a mat in the hut, eyes wide with fear. Maggie ran the last few feet to him. Bending down, she took his hand. “Oh, honey, are you all right? What happened?” She put the back of her hand on his forehead, checking for a fever.
Court moved to the other side of Neetie. “Maggie, make sure he remains still while I examine him.”
Maggie blinked and assumed her nursing demeanor. She moved so Neetie could see her. “Stay still so Dr. Court can listen to you.”
Court put his stethoscope to the boy’s chest and listened. Then, using his fingertips, he moved them slowly along the boy’s tight abdomen until he found the upper edge of his liver. It was enlarged, worse than it had been the night before. This time he had no doubt.
“What’s wrong?” Maggie demanded.
He didn’t want to say the words out loud, hated having to give parents bad news about their child. Court wished someone else was there to tell Maggie what was wrong with Neetie. He looked into Maggie’s big, green-eyed expectant gaze. “It’s hepatitis. B or C. I can’t be sure which until I run some tests.”
At her stricken look, he ached to take her in his arms and tell her it would be all right, but he couldn’t make such a promise.
“Neetie, you need to take it easy for the rest of the day.” Court worked to keep his voice even, reassuring. “Do you have a friend who can play a quiet game with you?”
Neetie shifted and sat up on his own, nodding agreement.
“Maggie and I need to finish our work but we’ll be back to check on you, okay?” Court stood. He rubbed the top of the boy’s head, before he offered Maggie his hand. She took it and he helped her to stand. She removed her fingers from his as soon as she could.
They were in the bright sunlight a moment before she turned to him and pinned him with a look. “Shouldn’t we leave for the hospital?”
“You know better than I that we can’t travel across this land at night. I’m sure you also know that all we can do for Neetie right now is let him rest and make sure he eats good-quality food and drinks often. He’ll recover with care and time. Why don’t you let me do the worrying?”
“I’m a big girl. I can handle worry.” She stepped closer, biting out the words, “You don’t decide what I worry about or don’t worry about. You’re only here for a little while and I’ll still be here when you’re gone.”
She turned so fast her ponytail and hips swung as she stalked off.
Maggie spoke out of her fear for Neetie but her words still stung. Court followed her as she set a brisk pace back toward the clinic area. Her work at the accident and the pragmatic way she’d accepted his verdict about Raja’s leg told him she was used to unpleasant news. Still, Neetie wasn’t just anyone to her. She reacted out of love where Neetie was concerned. It wasn’t about his insecurities, but about her. He had to keep telling himself that.
Maggie had too difficult a life already. A young pretty woman like her shouldn’t be spending her time in such a stark, unforgiving place. Those rhinestones on her flip-flops hinted at the fac
t she might enjoy parties, plays and fine dining. Something about Maggie made him want to make her life easier, to give her those things—make her smile. She had a beautiful smile but it didn’t often push the concerns of life from her eyes.
By the time he’d returned to the clinic, Maggie had already organized the waiting villagers into two groups, those she would tend and those who would require his attention.
“You’ll need to see the doctor,” she said in Mamprusi to a bone-thin old man, her tone sweet with concern. Maggie led the elderly man to Court and in short, concise words told him what was wrong. So went the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.
While he was debriding the wound on his last patient, Maggie asked him, “Do you need help? If not, I want to check on Neetie.”
“I’m good here.” He waited until her looked met his. “We did good work today.”
He received a curt nod before she began packing with her usual efficiency. He hoped his olive-branch statement cleared the air between them.
* * *
Maggie pulled the strap of the large med pack over her shoulder and turned to leave. She hadn’t missed Court’s attempt to set things right between them. It’d been years since she’d allowed something someone said to upset her so. Court managed to change that.
The last time had been when Ted had told her their wedding was off. Hurt had morphed into resentment and was soon on the road to becoming destructive ire. She’d promised herself then she’d never allow another person to have such power over her emotions again. She’d rebounded with difficulty, had made a life in Ghana, had accepted who she was and looked forward to being Neetie’s mother. Them being a family.
She’d found happiness and peace until Court had shown up in his glistening plane with his good looks and easy charm. The guy had gotten to her enough to make her fighting mad, bringing back all those destructive feelings. She wouldn’t let Court take away the contentment she’d work so hard to achieve. Maggie refused to let him matter. All her energy should be directed toward getting Neetie healthy again. She didn’t need Court carrying her burdens.